In order to supply a torpedo with electric power, a battery unit with a battery cell section or multiple battery parts is conventionally arranged in the torpedo. The battery cell section is an energy store in the form of an array of single electrical cells, a so-called stack. Here, the battery cell section comprises a large number of electrode plates connected to one another, which can be circular in shape, in order to be able to take advantage of the hull of the torpedo. In order to activate the battery unit, the battery cell section is filled with an electrolyte, generally an alkaline solution. The electrolyte and, if required, other operating materials such as coolant, are held ready in operating supply reservoirs, which are connected to the battery cell section.
Activation devices, which are connected to the respective operating supply reservoir by an operating supply connection, are provided for activation. To activate an electric battery, DE 195 37 683 C2 provides the oxygen feed after opening a shut-off valve, which is actuated by an external activation signal, with which a cutting unit is pneumatically actuated and electrolyte is expelled from an electrolyte tank. In the process, the oxygen is fed under pressure via a shut-off valve of the cutting unit and a piston located in the cutting unit piston is released, which, in turn, pierces a seal of the electrolyte tank and thus opens the electrolyte tank. Under the pressure of the oxygen, the electrolyte is pushed out of the electrolyte tank into the individual battery cells.
In the known device, the heat arising from operating the battery is dissipated by means of the cooling equipment of the individual battery cells. In the process, the coolant running through the cooling equipment is moved by a pump and introduced into a heat exchanger in a cooling system, which releases the heat outside into the seawater.
When the battery is activated, the controlled feed of the operating supplies must also be guaranteed after a longer storage period. The malfunction of the components, which are involved in the conveyance of operating supplies, can lead to an uncontrolled activation of the battery. For example, the activation of the battery by feeding an electrolyte into the battery cell section results in a rise in temperature, which, where there is a malfunction in the cooling or of other operating materials, can lead to excessive heating of the battery cell section and, under the right circumstances, to a battery fire.